Balance
I read a book when I was 19 years old. It was called Life is a Question of Balance. It contained anecdotes and poetry, thoughts and stories akin to those "Thoughts for the Day"-type books, but not organized as such.
This was the 1970's and everything American was pop-psychology, and equal rights for everyone, and still anti-war for the most part; from music and books to film and television. The peril of hunger around the world and children being molested to the tune of one-in-six girls under the age of 18 at that time was not quite out of the closet, but the door was about to be flung wide open. The HIV/AIDS epidemic was stewing in the gay male community and parts of Africa were about to be plummeted into starvation and disease unseen since the Plague. South and Central America saw political coups (some US-backed) which ushered in decades of instability and bloodshed.
If we are to understand the meaning of balance, we must accept the darkness that is inherent in human nature, and therefore ourselves. Using light as a the metaphor - because all that is good has as its opposing or balancing force the element of darkness, in order to fully comprehend that darkness, history must be learned.
I have avoided history most of my life. I didn't like my personal history - too much darkness - so I remained rooted in the present, forcusing on the things upon which I can effect change. This sensibility was altered, though, within the last ten years or so. Having kids and raising them changes your perspective. Getting older changes your perspective. There are just not as many years to look forward to as there are years to look back upon! But more so, the nature of human nature is much more interesting in the context of history.
History repeats itself predictably. Historical trends are not all that different in cultures around the world. The context of the political systems is important when comparing societies because certainly a democracy will follow more of a Bell Curve successively than a dictatorship. However, within all contexts, it is undoubtedly the details of the people's lives - their personal history - which is the most historically interesting and overall, most influential element.
Seeing this clearly, you have no idea how much you can influence history - whether it is by inspiring one person to become transformed from being angry to being forgiving or whether it is by saying just the right words which allow them enough belief in themselves to follow their dreams and become the next Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr, Picasso, Emily Dickinson, Georgia O'Keeffe, Joni Mitchell, Mary Robinson or Monica Willard.
It's a question of balance. Balancing life in the present with your history - personal and cultural - and accepting both the light and the darkness within each. This approach is a path to balance and ultimately, wisdom. You are transformed by the knowledge of these components. The beauty of this path is knowing, as well, there are some things you can change, some you cannot, and some things that are just tragic or happy accidents.
